The Crimson Ledger
by hawkwasp4
Summary: An Origin of the Black Widow and the many moments in her life that will mold her into the superspy she is today. WARNING! Serious mature themes, this is going to be a detailed depiction of the early years of Natasha Romanoff's life so expect a lot of mature and explicit themes, there won't be much left unsaid, so fair warning and please enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter: 1**

_Year: 1988.  
Location: Stalingrad.  
Time: 2:17a.m._

Something had startled her awake, like footsteps.

She'd gotten out of her bed to investigate the noises she'd heard below and found her older sister in the kitchen looking for something. She walked silently behind her sister. "Isabelle? Why are you up, mama and papa are asleep." The 4 year old questioned in her native Russian."

She turned suddenly and put her finger on her lips. "Shhh... I heard something down here and needed to check it out, it sounds like its coming from the stove." Her sister began searching the stove for the source of the noise. "Go back to bed Nat."

"I told you not to call me-" Young Natalia began walking back to her room, but turned as she smelt something strong in the air. _What is that it smells really bad? _"Isabelle, do you smell-" Before 3 year old Natalia could finish her sentence she was blown off her feet by large force that caught her right in the stomach, as she flew backwards through the air, she saw her sister slam hard against the wall opposite the stove and the flames covered the whole kitchen.

Her eyes were shut for what felt like a second, but was more like a couple of minutes. The fire had spread like crazy and before she could lift her throbbing head she was being scooped into what she recognized as her papa's arms, she clutched tightly to his chest for dear life, hoping he could make this hell go away.

Smoke clouded her vision, she could barely see straight from the explosion and her head ached like it was going to crack open. She was in her fathers arms only a second ago, until a sudden jolt had them both falling, he'd dropped her on the hard wood floor that was getting hotter and hotter by the second.  
As she tried to search for him she could only hear him shout her name. "NATALIA!" he shouted her name until his lungs were full of the black smoke.

"Im here papa!"

Without warning the ceiling above her had come down, she curled onto the ground luckily avoiding any of the rubble from hitting her and sobbed to herself, she wanted her papa to take her away from here, she wanted him to hold her again and tell her it was ok, but she couldn't hear her papa, not anymore, his shouting had turned to silence and all that she could hear were the flames engulfing the place she'd known as home.  
In a moment of utter fear and desperation she'd crawled out from the rubble and looked for her father.

She crawled around where she'd thought he'd dropped her, but all she could find was rubble, spread out all over the floor. She could smell something horrible in the air, something she was too young to recognize yet, but would come to associate with burnt flesh.

Still on her hands and knees she tried to leave the house in search of help, she needed someone, anyone to rescue her.

She walked past the stairs when she heard her mother's voice. But it wasn't how she'd heard ever before, it was filled with panic and fear. "HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE!...*coughing* HEEEEEEELP!"

Natalia rushed over to her distressed mother, hoping she wasn't to late.

She'd had been pin down by the bottom half of her body when she had ran down the stairs. They must have given way due to the flames, and the rubble from the ceiling had all but crushed her.

"Natalia! Oh thank God you're alive." She was frantically coughing and crying. She looked just like her mother, with the same fiery red hair and piercing green eyes, they looked so alike it was unreal.

They held each others hands tightly and were both in tears at the devastation around them. "Don't worry mama, I'll pull you out, you'll see, I'm strong."

The little girl tried pulling on her mother's arm as hard as she could, but to no avail, the rubble was to heavy and even with her mother helping it didn't even budge. She pulled so hard that when they're hands slipped, she feel back on her ass. "It's ok mama, I'll just lift some of this!"

"Natalia no don't touc-" as soon as she had attempted to lift a large piece of rubble more of it fell on top of her mother's legs and sent new waves of pain through her lower body and made her let out an unholy scream of agony.

Natalia dropped the rubble immediately at hearing hearing mother's screams, she got down on her knees beside her and held her hand. "I'm sorry mama, I'm not strong enough, I'm sorry!" She cried

Her mother had a small pool of blood in her mouth and her grip was getting weaker. She felt the flames grow larger and the heat was getting closer to her. "Natalia, listen to me." She coughed the blood out of her mouth. "Leave the house, go and get help." She began crying again. "Mama will be fine, just go." She lied.

Natalia was shaking her head as her mother spoke. "no! no no no no NO! I'm not going!" but before she could argue any further a hand had wrapped around her wrist and began pulling her away from her mother. She gripped onto her mother to the point of pain and cried out for her. "NO! MAMA DON'T LET ME GO! MAMA!"

Her mother lost consciousness as her hand slipped away and Natalia's vision was covered in thick black smoke. She never stopped screaming for her mother, her father or her sister.

She never saw the face of who had saved her, but their hands were cold, so cold it sent a ripple through her body.  
As she was trailed out of the house onto the snow outside and the first breath of fresh air hit her, her body went numb, her brain shut down and she past out, a large part of Natalia Romanova Died that night, under a full moon in the stench of her families charred corpses.

She didn't know it yet but today was the first day of the rest of her life.

The ground was hard and cold, made from concrete. She'd been striped naked and left on the floor, not that she knew that yet.

Her head was one big blur and all that was clear was that she was scared. _No wait, I'm not scared, but I should be, why aren't I? _She rubbed her head and felt nothing, all of her hair had been shaved off, her once fiery red locks had disappeared, but this didn't shock her, in-fact she barely mind was working like a machine, she took in her surroundings after her vision had cleared and she analysed ever inch of the room in the time she had.  
The cell was old, painted green, no furniture, not even a stool. The walls were littered with marks and scrapes that one could only associate with torture and pain. The rest of the room was bare, only a large re-enforced steel door facing her, she couldn't tell since it was closed but she guessed that the door must have been 4 inches thick. _How could I know that? Why is everything so clear to me but so confusing at the same time?_

She placed her hands on her head and tried hard not to think but her mind was racing. _What is wrong with me?_

The large steel door began to move just as she lifted her head, she didn't scurry away or curl up, she stood up and waited for whoever was coming through the door.

A man dressed in a communist solider uniform slowly moved into the room with an AK-47 assault rifle aimed at Natalia. She didn't flinch, but she found it strange that she didn't.

"Clear sir, she's good to go." The man said in Russian as he lowered the assault rifle.

A second later, a larger man, at least 6 foot 5 and full of muscle with a wide grin on his face came through the door, he must have been in his mid thirties and had signs of grey hairs already on his head, he was dressed in very formal looking military clothes. "That'll be all private you may leave." he waved the solider off.

"But sir she is a high ris-" The younger of the two men argued before he was cut off.

"Are you questioning a direct order from your commanding officer?" The larger of the two mean replied very calmly and with still the same grin on his face.

The private began shaking his head. "n..no, no sir, I just-" he was cut off again.

"It's fine comrade, I can handle myself." He stared deep into the young man's eyes and whispered something in his ear that made the private shake slightly.

Natalia was completely in bewilderment.

"Now private, you should get going." as he turned and walked towards Natalia and stared at her he said "Oh and don't forget, it's colonel, not sir." He said to the private just before he left the room.

"Y-y-y-yes s...Colonel."

The large man towered over Natalia and she felt a little uncomfortable, he stared all over her exposed body making sure not to miss a spot by circling around the young red head. He stood in front to face her. "Name?" he asked with a stern expression.

She didn't look the man in the eyes and looked around the room like she had before, trying to find something that might help her think. _What's my name?_

He stepped close and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your name sweetheart, what's your name?" He asked a little softer.

She felt the warmth in his hand and some of her discomfort began to fade. She shook her head. "I-I don't...I don't remember? I think I don't remember."

The large man began unbuttoning his coat and put it on the young girl before him. "That's fine, you had us worried there., please let me get you a seat." he clicked his fingers and a different solider came in with a chair in hand and placed it down for her. "Sit, please."

She took the seat and smiled at the large man for being so nice to her. "Thank you, I wish I could rmemeber but I don't know where I am or who I am?"

The large man chuckled lightly. "It's ok, you're going to be ok, you had a very nasty accident, but you're safe here, with us." he smiled at her cheerfully.

She smiled and pulled the coat more firmly around her. "Can you help me remember?"

He nodded at her request. "I promise to you, on the flag of mother Russia that I will help you remember and that I will make you stronger than before."

She stared into his eyes at his last words. "Stronger?"

"Yes, don't you want to be stronger, for your country?"

His question was odd and out of place but it didn't faze her, she wanted to be stronger. "I do."

He smiled even wider now. He noticed her looking around. "What are you thinking of right now?"

The question caught her off guard and she suddenly felt embarrassed and ashamed. "I was, planning a way to escape."

"Why do you want to escape." He replied in his still tone that made her hair stand on end.

"I don't know this place and I'm...well I'm."

"Scared?" he looked closer at her.

She looked confused, not by his question but because of her answer. "No." her answer interested him.

"Good."

She stared down. "I was considering using the badges on your coat to stab you then do the same to one of the guards outside and take his gun."

He reacted calmly. "Why were you thinking that.?"

She shook her head slowly. "I don't know."

He waited a moment and looked at the young girl. "Would you like to know your name?" he offered.

She slowly nodded. "Yes, please."

"Natalia."

She smiled. "I like my name."

"Good, now Natalia, I need to ask you a question, its very important and I need you to tell me the truth, because I told you the truth, understand?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"Do you remember anything?"

She looked down and closed her eyes trying to remember. There was nothing, just blank. She shook her head and weakly replied. "No."

He embraced young Natalia. "Come with me, we'll get you some clothes and food, would you like that?"

She smiled and nodded her head at the sound of food, she was starving. "Yes please."

"Alright then." He placed his hand out for her to grab and she took it gratefully.

"Can I ask one favour, please?"

He looked back at her as he shut the steel door behind them. "What's that?"

She looked him up and down. "Who are you?"

He smiled and stood at attention like any solider. "I am Colonel Ivan Petrovich, at your service madam." He said with a bow.

She giggled at his presentation. "Thank you Ivan, for saving me."

He took her hand and they walked through the hall to the laundry room to find Natalia some clothes to wear. "My pleasure."

**So just for a mix up I want to try two origin stories about my two favourite spies, just so I can give you a back story on the characters I want to write about. Btw these will get a lot more 'mature' as they go on so fair warning I'm not gonna leave much unsaid.  
I'm starting with Natasha's origin but you'll definitely see a Clint origin before Sunday and I have got some big, big plans for these two. Keep reading and review when you can, I love to hear what you guys think! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter: 2  
**

_Year: 1990_****

Throughout the course of the next six months, Natasha's body had recovered from the injures she had sustained in the house fire. She still didn't remember much of what happened that night or who she really was, she didn't remember much of anything. Fire, bullets, knives and blood were all that was on her mind. She never questioned why such things were in her thoughts 24/7, and it didn't bother her either. In a way, she enjoyed it.

She sat on a small yet comfortable chair that was dwarfed by Ivan's large empty throne like chair. Her legs dangled from the chair and she couldn't help but kick them back and forth. Swinging her legs made her smile. _Child_

Ivan's office was candle lit and the décor was Victorian; red and gold velvet covered the room. The carpet was thick and warm and on the wall above the fireplace, which burned two large logs, was a large painting of an old man she didn't recognise. She was lazily scanning the area while Schubert played from the ancient looking gramophone.

The one thing in the room that really caught her eye was the golden letter opener sitting conspicuously on the large mahogany desk. It shone brighter than anything else did in the room, glistening gold with a single ruby encrusted into the bottom of the handle. Something about the blade drew Natasha to it, something eager and terrifying.

In the first week, Ivan had already gotten her a tutor so she would still get an education. Math, English, Russian, French, Biology, Chemistry and Computing were on her syllabus but she didn't understand why 'the basics of handgun mechanics' or Spetsnaz training book were necessary.

Every day after she had finished her lessons she'd been subjected to medical exams, psychological evaluations and physical endurance tests, Natasha didn't think the physical stuff was necessary and it made her uncomfortable, but she didn't question what they asked of her.

The medical exams went by fairly quickly and had stopped after the first month of her stay here, wherever "here" is. They mostly took blood samples and checked her head for concussions and memory loss, but so far Ivan had filled in most of her life and for that she was grateful.

The psychological tests weren't too difficult either, mostly a few 'tell me how you feel' questions or 'are you happy, Natalia?'

Her physical tests mostly involved running, jumping and rolling, but each day she would get faster and the tests would get harder, always pushing her to the limit. The sweat would roll off her face and she would gasp for air. She felt like crying and begging for it to stop as her muscles ached, but she didn't. _Never question. They saved our life stupid, of course we don't question...We should take the dagger._

The sound of the door opening behind her snapped her out of her reverie. She jumped and turned around. It was Ivan, he was busy reading through a chart, and didn't acknowledge Natasha's presence. Instead, he sat down on his overly large chair and continued to scrutinise the chart for another while longer.

Natasha's eyes were scanning the room in a desperate, vain attempt to find something familiar that might jog her memory. She was happy that Ivan told her so much about her life, but she wanted to know more. _Was that wrong?_

Ivan placed the chart down on his desk, cleared his throat and clasped his long thin fingers together before looking straight at Natasha. "Well I am impressed," he said with a smile.

Natasha looked at Ivan and felt awkward in the man's presence. She didn't say a word.

"You've exceeded all of my expectations and your medical reports are spectacular."

Natasha's eyes still looked around the room and tried not to look directly at Ivan. "Thank you, but I don't understand why I was tested." Her eyes went straight back to the letter opener. "Not that I mind it's just the doctors... they make me nervous."

He glanced over the papers again, "Try not to worry about the doctors Natalia, they're just here to help you and make sure you are healthy." Ivan peeked up from his paper work and looked at Natasha, who was ignoring his answer and still eye-balling the golden dagger almost obsessively. "Do you like the shine?" he asked with a wide grin.

She looked at him, slightly embarrassed that he had caught her, and she remained silent.

"It's quite alright Natalia, it is a very pretty dagger isn't it?" He reached forward, lifted the dagger from the desk, and held it in his hands, checking the sharpness with his index finger. "Would you like to hold it?" he held it out to her, handle first.

She got off her chair, and took it hesitantly, and noticed the weight. It was deceivingly heavy but she quickly got used to it.

"You appreciate the beauty of it, don't you?" Ivan asked her.

She examined it further before replying. "No, I don't like the colour gold, too flashy."

Ivan leant forward with a confused look on his face. "Then why can't you take your eyes off it?"

Her faced turned serious at that point and her answer sounded so cold that it sent shivers down her own spine. "Because it was the first thing I noticed as I walked into the room, everything else was just grey and this was all I noticed." She said holding out the dagger for him to take back. "And I don't know why."

Ivan balanced the dagger in his hand. "Is there something wrong with me?" Natasha asked with a catch in her throat.

Ivan promptly stood up, putting the dagger back on the desk. He walked over to her, placed his hand on the back of her head, and held her close. "No Natasha, there's nothing wrong with you." Natasha looked up at him with small tears in her eyes. "In fact Natasha, there is something wrong with this world and you are normal."

She started to rub the tears from her eyes and Ivan helped. He got down on his knee and looked her in the eyes, holding her head so she looked right at him. "Actually Natalia, you are better than normal, you are close to perfection."

Natasha looked down and felt a bit better about herself. "Is that why I feel so different?"

"Yes, because you are different. Together, you and I are going to change this world the way we want it, so that there are more people like us." He held her closer. "This world needs cleansed."

Natasha slowly pulled away and looked up at Ivan. "Is that why my family was killed by those American soldiers?"

Ivan's face turned serious. "Your family were not killed for being weak, the weak ones were the Americans who attacked out of fear."

"What were they afraid of?"

"Of you Natalia, they were afraid of who you would become, so they tried to kill you."

"But you saved me" She said to him with a smile and a small sniff. "I just wish I could remember my family."

"You know we're doing all we can to help you Natalia, but at the same time, you need to help us."

She looked at him, a mix of confusion and helplessness in her big green eyes. "How?"

He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Natalia, how would you like to be the saviour of our mother land?"

The room was immediately filled with an eerie seriousness. "You will be the symbol that this country has been lacking for years and with my help, we'll pick this world out of the ashes of American oppression."

Natasha took a deep breath and tried to understand the full volume of what was being said. She took a deep breath and straightened her small frame. "What do I have to do?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter: ****3**

_6 months later:_****

Her room felt especially cold that morning, it wasn't the nicest room ever, some would even call it a dungeon, but at least it was hers. There wasn't a lot Natasha had left in her life.

The room had a single window in a 20 by 10 room. It was fairly well lit and the room had been painted a dull green colour, at least it was some colour.  
She was grateful of Ivan for taking her in, although she did wish that she had nicer living quarters, was that wrong? The paint was chipped after all.  
Maybe today they'd paint her room, if she was lucky._ hopefully a nicer colour._**  
**However today her bedroom wasn't what was bothering her.  
**  
**She was nervous, for the first time in a long time she was nervous. She'd known for weeks that she was losing her tutor and joining a class room with other children, but the thought of meeting other children that were with in her same circumstance was worrying her.  
To be honest Ivan told her from the start that if she was 'health' that she would be joining the class and that her tutor wouldn't be around for very long.  
It wasn't that she liked her tutor, in fact she only knows her as Miss H and on one instance she heard a guard call her Lieutenant.

She would miss her, she just didn't want to meet new people, when you meet people you grow close and when you grow close people have a habit of dying.  
That made her worry about Ivan, she liked Ivan, she needed him, he was the only stability she had in the past two years, if she lost him she doesn't know what she would do.

She was also given a new uniform that day, it was even less colourful than her room, plain old grey track suit with a red star on either shoulder.  
The clothes were comfortable and kept her warm in the freezing room, there was even a note hidden in the pocket from Ivan. '**Good luck on your first day, make me proud. Ivan.'**

It brought a small smile to her face, it showed her that he did care and that also made her worry for him. _We can't lose him._

She crumbled up the paper and put it back in her pocket, she composed herself and walked out of her room. _Show time._

There was a guard waiting for her at the end of the hall who would take her to her classroom, she was used to the guards and soldiers around the place, Ivan had already explained where they were and what they did here...well some of the details were changed but at least she had a name for her new home. The Red Room. It became clear very quickly to her that the guards and soldiers were here to protect her.  
She felt a little offended, she was adamant that she could protect herself and that she didn't need anyone...even if they did have a high powered machine gun.

The guard didn't say a word to her as they walked, which was just as well, she was too nervous and caught up in her own thoughts to talk, although as she got close to the classroom the nervousness started to fade and be replaced by anticipation and excitement to meet girls her own age, finally.

In her head she kept track of all the turns and doors that they walked through, she was constantly actively thinking but at the same time totally aware of her surroundings, more so than anyone else she'd met so far.

Every crack in the walk, every flicker of the light bulbs, the small sounds of people talking that were barely able to make out, she heard and saw it all.

Sometimes it would give her a headache when she thought about things too much, it seemed like she obsessed over every detail in any room and about people. The headaches would hurt so bad that it kept her from sleep, however Ivan reassured her that the pains were normal, it was all apart of growing up and that they will disappear soon. _Not soon enough, God I can feel one building..._

She turned to the guard that was walking with her and noticed the thick yellow callouses on his fingers and the raw pink on his neck from a bad shave, his fingers tabbed on the handle of his gun with no real rhythm and he'd grind his teeth at least 3 times since they started walking._ He was a smoker, middle aged, not a new recruit but definitely not a high ranking officer, his nerves seem shot and he smells of yeast and tobacco. His wormy scarred faces tell me he's no stranger to combat, but not well trained._

He turned his head to look down at her. "Do you want something?" He asked with irritation clear on his voice. He had noticed her staring at him for the past 30 second.

She didn't say a thing, just kept staring.

"Hello?" She maintained her gaze. "You kids really freak me out ya know that." he said under his breath as his head looked forward down the hall.

She was still looking at him. "You seem nervous." she stated. "Are you afraid of something?"

This most definitely creeped out the guard. "What?"

"You're hands are shaky and you've been grinding your teeth."

He looked down at her again and stopped in his tracks. "It's normal for some people." He said to her as he took out the near empty pack of cigarettes. "Especially for a smoker." He began to light a cigarette.

"I knew you were a smoker, but judging from the smell of your breath I'd say you had a cigarette just before you came and got me, also the yellow on your fingers is a dead give away." She walked on a little ahead. "The reason I asked is because you've been sweating and breathing fairly heavy."

The guard's face drops into a frown and wipes the sweat from his forehead.

"Also when I asked if you were afraid, you started tapping louder. By the way you can't smoke in the halls."

The guard took the cigarette out of his mouth and walked a little faster. He caught up with Natasha and before opening the door to the classroom he grabbed her shoulder tight to the point of pain.

She turned with a shocked look on her face. "You're hurting me." She said trying to pull away from his grip.

He flipped her over hard so her back was against the wall. "You might be something special to Ivan and all these doctors, but to me you're just a kid and you should learn to respect your elders." He pushed her shoulder back in a sudden jolt. "Now get to class."

Just rubbed her shoulder and walked slowly into the door. All she could think about was getting back at the guard. _Who does he think he is? He better sleep with one eye open tonight..._

When she opened the door she was greeted with stares from 7 other girls, they were dressed just like her, almost identical to each other. The only difference between all the girls were there hair colours, some with raven black, brunette and blonde, but Natasha was the only red head.

"You must be the girl Ivan was talking about." The teacher was in her thirties, she was quiet muscular but her face looked much younger than she really was. "Please come sit at the head of the class please number 4."

Natasha walked slowly to the chair her teacher had pointed at. As soon as she sat down she put her hand up, something Ivan told her to do if she had something to say.

"Yes 4 what is it?"

She slowly lowered her hand and looked around the room at the other girls that were still staring at her, some of them might even be older than her. "It's nothing, just my name is Natasha, not 4."

Her teacher came over to her and smacked the side of Natasha face with the back of her hand. "Wrong, you have the name we give you and your name is 4." Her teacher had completely changed at that point.

"But Ivan..."

Her teacher hit her again on the opposite cheek. "We do not question our orders 4, we all must do our duty and yours is to follow my orders." She raised her yard stick against Natasha chin. "Will that be a problem."

Natasha thought about her answer and much she'd love to shove that yard stick down her teachers throat, but instead fought back the urge. "No."

"No, what 4?"

She looked around at her fellow students all watching her even closer. "No...Madam."

She pulled the yard stick away. "Good, now everyone take out your books on advanced chemical science and radiation."

_This is gonna be a good first day._

She'd finished off her essay before the other girls, their teacher had given them an essay on how you see human life, the subject threw her at first, but she soon realised that it was a psychological test, all of the girls here must have went through some sort of pain in the past and loss, they were just trying to profile them, so she lied, told them it was precious and that a human life is a gift from God. _Meh, I'm gonna be sick.  
_The thought of life confused Natasha, what was it to be alive if you don't even know who you are?__

She sat in silence watching the other girls in the room, there pencils burning furiously down the pages, light scratching noises filled the classroom.

Her teacher watched the room, like a hawk.

She noticed that Natasha was finished writing and slowly walked over to her table. "Is there something wrong number 4?"

Natasha stared up at her almost in a glare. "I've finished my assignment." She said passing her the filled file paper.

Her teacher looked through the papers, her eyes scanning every line. "Are you sure, number 4?" She asked, placing great emphasise on calling the young girl by her number in a hope of intimidating her.

Natasha lowered her head.

"Look at me when I talk to you girl!" she said gripping Natasha's jaw tight and forcing the girl to meet her eyes. "I can teach you many things in my class, but I have no time for bad manners, lets not make a habit of these embarrassing conversations, number 4." Her words were as cold as ice and filled Natasha's mouth with venom.

The entire class was now looking at Natasha, they were all waiting on Natasha's response. She didn't keep them waiting.

"I wouldn't be in such a bad mood if you'd gotten rid of that smell from your breath."

The room went silent.

The old woman smirked and turned her back on Natasha.

Natasha's heart finally started beating normally, although she remained cool on the outside, she was cracking on the inside. _I can't believe I got away with that._

As Natasha stood up to walk away, the old woman quickly turned and smashed the 4 year old over the side of her face, the hit was loud, put it didn't hurt half as much as it sounded, the old woman was angry but she knew not to hit a young girl with actual strength, although it was enough to have Natasha dazed.  
_Get up! _As Natasha tried to get back to her feet she heard the old woman say something to her and call after someone, within 5 seconds Natasha was being dragged out of the room by two guards.

She tried to fight back their hold but to no avail, she thought about continuing the fight but she felt a concussion rising in the back of her head and then black.

**2 hours later:**  
She was sitting on her bed with her knees high into her chest, she hadn't seen it yet, but there was a dark purple mark growing larger on her left blood shot eye and almost closing her eyelid over.  
She'd woken in her room what'd felt like an hours ago but in reality was only 15 minutes.

Her eyes didn't move from that same spot since she'd woken up. All she could think about was getting her own back on that old bitch!

She was lost in her own thoughts so much so that she didn't even notice the door being opened to her room and Ivan slowly walk in and greet her.

"Natalia?...Natalia!" He said more forcefully.

She snapped out of her daze and got on feet to greet him. "I'm sorry Ivan, hello."

Ivan's wide greet and open arms were all Natasha needed to feel at ease. "Please Natasha sit back down, its only me." he said sitting on Natasha's bed. He looked at the bruise on her face with real concern.

She joined him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

He held her head against him lightly. "Do you want to tell me what happened today?"

Natasha jumped from the bed. "She's the one that started it, she was picking on me ever since I walked into the class and she called me number 4! Plus she grabbed my face Ivan."

"Natalia!" He raised his voice. "Sit."

She looked down and sat beside Ivan again.

"I told you that this would be hard Natalia, the classes will be hard and so will the people."

She remained silent.

"Please Natalia, I'm here to help you."

She looked in the opposite direction. "I hate her Ivan, she makes me feel like a child." Natasha looked at Ivan. "Can't I be in another class?"

Ivan smiled and held Natasha close to him. "We all have to suffer in our lives child, life gives us these tests to find out who among us is the strong, we must endure, do you understand?"

Natasha looked into Ivan's eyes.

"That is why you are here Natalia, Russia has selected you to endure the pain that this country can't bare."

Natasha buried her head in Ivan's shoulder. "Why? Why does it have to be me Ivan."

Ivan lifted her head and spoke quietly to her. "Because you are special Natalia."

"What if I don't want to be special?"

"Its not up to us to be special, we are merely born with it in our bones Natalia, you and I." He assured her and placed a hand on her thigh. "We must use our gift, for the good of our people Natalia, don't you agree?"

Natasha nodded slightly. "Will you help me, when it gets hard?"

Ivan smiled and gripped her thigh and little tighter, which made Natalia feel a little uncomfortable. "I am always here for you Natalia."

Ivan got off the bed and walked to the door. "Please do try to be nicer to your teachers Natalia, we don't want anymore accidents like this do we?"

Natalia smiled at her guardian. "No Ivan, I'll be better, for you."

"I know you will sweetheart, for both of us."

Natalia nodded quickly. "I love you Ivan."

"I love you too dear, now rest, you have a big day tomorrow." Ivan left the room and the door was locked shut after him.

Ivan was now back in his office watching the phone with great intensity.

It finally rang. "Hello, has the boy been taken?"

"yes sir, we have him inbound now."

"Good, how old?"

"6"

"Excellent, prep him for the guardian program as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

Ivan was about to hang up the phone. "Wait! What is the young man's name?"

"Alexei, Alexei Shostakov."

**So sorry. Yeah I know its been awhile but my computer has been broken and I almost lost everything on this story and other stories I'm writing at the minute. But again I am so sorry and hopefully the updates will be more frequent now that my laptop is back, FINALLY! Hope you guys liked this chapter, after this there will be a two year jump and a very different Natasha.  
Again thanks for reading and please review if you can.**


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